


a dangerous night (to fall in love)

by abovetheruins



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood, First Meetings, Halloween, M/M, Werewolves, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-13 21:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abovetheruins/pseuds/abovetheruins
Summary: The scent that had stolen Ryan’s attention was coming from the area where the man was standing. A curious sniff at the air confirmed that it was still present and just as tantalizing to Ryan’s empty stomach, so with a roll of his shoulders to work out any lingering anxiety, he took his first step into the street.As he neared the man, twisting through the crowd and mumbling apologies when he bumped into someone, Ryan couldn’t help but notice how much stronger the scent grew. With each step it became more apparent, a constant tease on his senses, sharp but sweet at the same time, like sugar coated in flame, or frost. He’d never smelled anything like it.





	a dangerous night (to fall in love)

**Author's Note:**

> Wanted to write something for Halloween so here we are!
> 
> Just a forewarning: it's not explicit but it is heavily implied that the werewolves in this story hunt and/or eat humans. If that's not your cup of tea, you might wanna skip this one.
> 
> Inspired by the movie Trick R Treat.

"You can let go of my hand, Jen."

"I will," Jen said, though she refused to relinquish her hold on him. Ryan couldn't help but feel grateful despite his protest; the street was packed with costumed revelers and full of so many new scents that his nose kept twitching, unsure which one to focus on first. Still, he had a reputation to maintain if he didn't want to be seen as the runt of the litter for the rest of his life.

"He's gotta leave the den sometime, Mama Wolf," Curly sing-songed, dodging out of the way as Jen took a swipe at him. "You can't expect to stick to him all night. It's Halloween. Let the pup have fun." He wiggled his eyebrows at the last word and Ryan didn't have to ask to know exactly what sort of fun Curly was insinuating.

Not that he would be opposed, if he wound up finding someone he liked. That was the whole point of tonight, wasn’t it? And Curly was right - he couldn't follow Jen around all night, didn't want to ruin her fun or prevent any of the others from having a good time because they were busy checking on him. He was an adult for Christ's sake. So what if this was his first time striking out on his own? He could take care of himself.

"He'll be fine, Jen," Kelsey piped up, slipping her arm through Jen's and tossing a wink in Ryan's direction. “C’mon, we all did it, and we all did it alone. It’s tradition.”

"Alright, alright," Jen laughed. She slipped her hand free of Ryan's grasp and raised both her palms in a gesture of surrender. "There, see? Here I am, letting go. No more Mama Wolf comments. I’m just – concerned, that’s all.”

“I’ll be fine, Jen,” Ryan assured her, knocking their shoulders together as they watched the celebration unfold on the street. “Really, I’m ready.”

For a second he was legitimately concerned that Jen might start tearing up; her eyes were suspiciously bright as she nodded, both of her hands curling over his shoulders as she stared up at him. “I know you are. You know when to find us when you’re done, yeah? And to call me if you get in trouble. Seriously.”

“Okay, _Mom_ ,” Ryan teased, taking a step back before she could retaliate with a well-aimed smack. Jen was tiny, but she packed a fucking punch. “I’ll meet you guys in an hour. Promise.”

“Now that that’s settled,” Curly said, grabbing Jen’s other arm. “Let’s go, Mama Wolf. Good luck, Perrito!” he added over his shoulder, and barked a laugh as Ryan’s only response was to flip him off.

Left alone – as alone as he could be on a crowded street, anyway – Ryan took a breath to psych himself up and then threw himself into the fray.

The spirit of the season was alive in every shop window, every bar and restaurant spilling music and lights and people out onto the street. The scent of food was everywhere, making Ryan’s mouth water, and it was a struggle to remind himself to take his time, to choose carefully, to be _patient_.

Especially when he caught a new scent, spicy but sharp, lingering like a tease in the cool autumn wind. Ryan scanned the crowd for its source, eyes hopping from storefront to storefront, passing over witches and ghosts and goblins, all in various states of inebriation. His eyes caught on a man leaning up against a brick wall through a break in the crowd, more noticeable for his lack of costume than anything else. Well, that, and his height. He was practically looming over the rest of the crowd.

Ryan tilted his head. There was a softness to the man he couldn’t quite place, a bored, almost sleepy expression on his face as he watched the crowd, long limbs folded in a relaxed sprawl against the brick at his back.

The scent that had stolen Ryan’s attention was coming from the area where the man was standing. A curious sniff at the air confirmed that it was still present and just as tantalizing to Ryan’s empty stomach, so with a roll of his shoulders to work out any lingering anxiety, he took his first step into the street.

As he neared the man, twisting through the crowd and mumbling apologies when he bumped into someone, Ryan couldn’t help but notice how much stronger the scent grew. With each step it became more apparent, a constant tease on his senses, sharp but sweet at the same time, like sugar coated in flame, or frost. He’d never smelled anything like it.

His eyes were trained on the man even as he searched out the source of the scent, drawn to him for some reason he couldn't name, so that when curious eyes lifted and landed on him, Ryan should have been prepared. He definitely shouldn't have been startled, and yet he found himself faltering anyway, his pulse pounding as the man's lips curled in a slow, sleepy smile.

A surge in the crowd momentarily blocked his sight, and once a path cleared up he was disappointed to see the brick wall empty. There was no sign of the stranger – or the scent, he realized with a grumble of annoyance – and he sighed, blowing out a breath that misted in the chilly air.

_Well, fuck_ , he thought, casting his eyes over the crowd and searching in vain for a head of brown hair and a sleepy smile. There was nothing.

He wandered the streets for another half an hour, keeping an eye – and his nose – out for anything worthwhile, but nothing caught his attention. He put real effort into it, not wanting the night and his first time out alone to be a total bust, but there was nothing for it.

_There’s always next Halloween_ , he thought with a grimace, debating on ducking into a nearby bar for a beer or two before heading out to meet up with Jen and the others. It felt like a cop-out, and he could already hear Curly’s teasing, but fuck it. He wasn’t gonna settle on just _anybody_.

He picked out a bar and headed toward the entrance, disappointed but resigned to an unsuccessful night, until he caught it. That scent. Sharp and sweet. _Close_.

His stomach rumbled, his tongue swiping over his teeth as he followed the scent into a nearby alley. If hunger wasn’t gnawing at him he’d be laughing at how ridiculous he looked, his eyes no doubt wide and dazzled as he traced the scent through the empty alleyways, the roar of the crowd muted to a muffled din the further he went.

He turned a corner and paused, staring down the stretch of another abandoned alley. The scent was all around him now, clinging to his senses like sugar taffy, and he couldn’t get a read on where it was coming from.

Not until a heavy weight slammed into his back, pushing him against the wall. A grunt escaped his lips, more at the surprise than any real pain. He could feel the wiry strength in the body pressed up against his but Ryan had bulk and musculature on his side. If he wanted to, he could switch their positions and show this stranger just how badly he’d underestimated his prey.

If he wanted to. He didn’t. He kind of wanted to see where this went.

The scent was stronger than ever, exuding from the stranger’s skin, and Ryan knew it was the man, the one he’d been watching. The source of that scent. He wondered what expression the man was wearing now, wondered what it would morph into once he realized what Ryan really was.

Ryan could feel his face shifting just at the thought, his teeth aching in his mouth, pushing at his gums. There wasn’t time to fix it, not before long, thin fingers clenched around his shoulders and twisted him around, forcing him to look the man straight in the face.

Gone was the sleepy smile, the bored indifference. In its place was a fierce desire that made Ryan’s heart pound, his eyes feverishly cataloging all of the details he had been too far away to make out before. Dark brown eyes, pale skin that freckled along the bridge of a long, narrow nose, mouth framed by a light smattering of stubble. Up close the man’s height was even more jarring, and Ryan found himself wavering between unease and intrigue at the novelty of being loomed over. There was nothing about this man that screamed prey, no matter how appetizing his scent.

A sharp intake of breath drew Ryan’s attention to the man’s eyes, focused on his own mouth in silent, pointed contemplation. Ryan swallowed, feeling picked apart beneath the man’s gaze, his body warring between the need to feed and the urge to flee. Whatever the man’s designs may have been on him, he’d seen what Ryan was now, seen his elongated teeth and golden eyes. If he turned tail and ran, Ryan would have no choice but to chase him down.

Fuck, why was that thought such a turn on?

“You… “ The man’s voice was soft, smooth. Even. He wasn’t afraid. Why wasn't he afraid? His hand had left Ryan’s shoulder, no longer pressing him into the wall but drifting up along the curve of his ear, toward the top of his head. “Are you – “ he continued, squinting his eyes for a moment. Ryan held his breath, waiting for a shout, a punch. The man did neither.

He laughed.

Full-bodied, loud, _wheezing_ laughter, so sudden that Ryan flinched, his hackles rising. The guy was practically howling, slumped over with his hands braced on his knees and eyes crinkled shut. What the fuck was happening?

It took a while, but eventually the man’s mirth seemed to fade, from that ridiculous wheeze to a light smattering of chuckles. “Your costume’s a little – a little on the nose, isn’t it?” he asked, thumbing a tear from the corner of his eye. His cheeks were flushed from his laughing fit, the lines around his eyes standing out in stark relief, and something too close to hunger to be anything else flared in Ryan’s belly.

Wait, costume... ? Ryan narrowed his eyes, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair, and huffed out a breath as he felt the soft fuzz of the fake ears Curly had jammed onto his head earlier that night.

And then he registered what the man was asking, and gaped. “You – you know that I’m – ?”

The man smirked, closing one eye in an exaggerated wink. “Call it a hunch,” he said, and when his lids parted the former hazel iris burned a brilliant gold.

Ryan’s jaw dropped. “You’re fucking kidding me.”

* * *

The man – “Shane,” he’d introduced with a wry grin – wasn’t kidding him.

“I just moved to town a few weeks back,” he explained, his voice carrying smoothly above the din of the crowd. The flow of people seemed to part unconsciously around him, swayed either by his height or the way he carried himself, Ryan couldn’t be sure.

“On your own?” Must have been hard. Ryan remembered his first few weeks alone with no small amount of anxiety, how terrified and isolated he’d felt, freshly turned and not knowing what the fuck was happening to him, why he was always hungry, always _craving_ , not until Jen had found him and helped him adjust, brought him into the pack and made him feel like he belonged.

Shane shrugged, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his denim jacket. “It’s not so bad, the whole lone wolf lifestyle.”

Ryan hummed, unconvinced. Maybe he’d have a better go at it this time around, now that he was more settled in his skin, but the camaraderie he’d found with Jen and the others wasn’t something he'd want to lose.

“So, what’s your story, Ryan Bergara?” Shane asked him, nudging his shoulder with his own. “Your pack leave you to fend for yourself tonight?”

Ryan snorted. “Barely. It’s – It’s my first Halloween. You know, flying solo. Haven’t been – “ He waved a hand at himself, encompassing the whole of him, from the tips of his fake ears to the toes of his Jordans. “ – you know, like this, for long. So.”

Shane mock-gasped. “Good lord, you’re a baby werewolf!”

“Shane!” Ryan hissed, widening his eyes at the surrounding crowd as if to say _Really?_ “Shut up!”

Shane laughed, tossing his arm around Ryan’s shoulder. “Chill, bud. Take a look around. They’re either too drunk or too oblivious to care. You could show off those pearly whites of yours and they wouldn’t even bat an eye, not tonight.”

And he was right. That was the reason Ryan was here, the reason Curly had so gleefully crammed those ears onto his head. _We dress up so they don't know we're not like them_. So they could blend in. So they could hunt.

His stomach growled, as if just now remembering his earlier hunger, and Ryan drew in a slow breath, tinged with the scents of humans and crisp autumn air and Shane, still a line of heat at his side.

Shane, who noticed his reaction and slowed them both to a stop, a speculative look on his face. "You're hungry, huh?" he asked, and despite the softness of his voice and the muted roar of the crowd, Ryan could hear him loud and clear.

He chewed on his lower lip, teeth sinking into his cheek as he watched Shane's eyes catch on his mouth. "Fucking starving."

Shane's lips quirked, before a thought seemed to strike him. "What do I smell like? To you?"

From anyone else it would have been a strange non-sequitur, but not from Shane, who would know now that Ryan had been following his scent, drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

"Sweet," Ryan answered, too distracted by his hunger to bother dissembling. "What do I smell like?"

"Hot," Shane said, and smirked. "Like smoke. It's a good scent."

"You were hunting me." It was blaringly obvious now, though Ryan hadn't realized it before, in the moment. Shane had noticed him staring, had baited him into that alley and pinned him against the wall, for the same reason that Ryan had been searching out Shane's scent. To feed. To kill. If Ryan had been human, it would have worked. Shane would have been tasting Ryan's blood on his lips right now, full and content from a successful hunt.

Just the thought was making Ryan flush. He knew Shane could see it, could probably smell it, too, and he clenched his hands into fists to stop himself from doing something stupid. Impulsive.

"And you were hunting me." Shane didn't sound too torn up about it; if anything, he seemed pleased, an undercurrent of something dark in his tone that stiffened Ryan's spine and made a growl rumble in the base of his throat. He felt like running, not in fright but in pursuit. He wanted to _be_ pursued. What the fuck? Attraction at first sight was one thing, but this... He didn't have any experience with _this_.

"We could... together," he said, and though the offer was disjointed as hell Shane seemed to get the gist of it, his eyes flashing amber in the glare of the streetlights.

"Think you could keep up with me, little guy?" The smug curl of Shane's lips was insufferable, cocky and teasing all at once, and Ryan bristled with the need to prove himself, to prove his strength, his power, his stamina. It was so completely unlike anything he'd ever felt beneath the teasing barbs of his packmates that he hardly knew what to do with himself.

The sharp tips of his canines caught the light as he smiled; the sweet spiciness of Shane's scent flared with a smoky undercurrent of desire at the sight of it, and Ryan's legs ached to move, to run, to _chase_.

"Watch me," he said, and Shane’s eyes bled molten gold.

* * *

Jen was the first to spot them when they arrived in the clearing. Ryan saw her nose twitch as she took in the sight of Shane at his side, followed by such a look of blatant amusement that he could feel warmth flooding his face.

"You made it," she grinned, tossing two bottles of beer their way. "And with a guest!"

"Sorry for crashing your party," Shane said, an easy grin on his face. He'd been loose-limbed and sleepy-eyed since they'd fed, his movements languid, and Ryan was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of him.

It didn't help that he could still see Shane in the back of his mind, face pointed and teeth sharp as they cornered their prey, mouth painted red after they'd eaten, long fingers swiping the blood from Ryan's lips and eyes glowing gold, dark with satisfaction.

"Any friend of Ryan's is a friend of ours," Jen was saying; Ryan didn't miss her emphasis on _friend_ , and shot her a gesture he would surely get cuffed across the back of the head for later.

She left them with a wink and a thumbs up in Ryan's direction that was nowhere near as covert as it should have been. He could feel Shane shaking with laughter against his side, tucked close like he’d been for most of the night. His scent was stronger than ever, overlaid with the familiar tang of copper and iron, and any annoyance Ryan might have felt dispersed in a wave of heat. Christ, this was ridiculous.

Not that it felt that way. The moon was full and bright in the sky, its light spilling through the gaps in the trees, his pack was gathered around him, voices raised in laughter and celebration, and Shane's warmth was a constant against his side, his sleepy eyes and soft voice and sweet scent having grown both familiar and intoxicating over the course of the night.

“Come run with me,” he said, the words spilling from his mouth without much input from his brain. Their hunt had soothed his hunger but the urge to run, to chase and be chased, was still thrumming in his hindbrain, itching in the soles of his feet and the tips of his fingers.

That, and he wanted to _see_ \- see if the color of Shane’s fur was the same shade as his wild, windswept hair, see if his paws were as large as his hands were now, see how his long limbs translated into his other form, if he was ridiculous and gangly or lithe and graceful.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” Shane quipped, laughter in his eyes, because of course he had read Ryan like a book, knew exactly what he wanted without him having to say it.

It was heady, to be understood so well.

“Think you can keep up with me, big guy?” he asked, smirking even as his heart began to race, because Shane was reaching for his jacket and wiggling out of it, long fingers falling to the hem of his shirt after he’d tossed the pile of denim to the ground. His skin was pale and lightly freckled, slender hipbones and the slight swell of his stomach making Ryan’s fingers itch to reach out, feel it drag at his palms.

“Think you can catch me?” Shane returned, his eyes dark and warm as he watched Ryan pull at his shirt and jeans. Ryan relished in the hot sweep of that gaze over his bare shoulders and chest, slowing his fingers despite the urgency swimming in his veins, just to feel it for a little while longer.

“What’ll you give me if I do?” he asked, breathless already. His muscles were tightening beneath his skin, stretching, burning, the length of his spine shifting, popping.

Shane laughed, a low rasp of a thing. Sweat shone on his brow, his eyes flaring a dark, molten amber, nails lengthening into sharp points. “Catch me,” he breathed, taking a slightly stumbling step towards the treeline as the bones in his ankles and legs began to shift, “and I’ll show you.”

Ryan wheezed, hissing between the jut of pointed teeth, and threw himself after Shane, visions of playful bites and bloodied kisses racing through his mind. Behind him he could hear his pack hollering after him, cheering them on, and knew that soon they would be giving chase, the lot of them tearing across the forest floor, their howls echoing deep into the night.

But for now it was just him and Shane, the scent of loam and fiery sweetness calling Ryan deeper into the forest, and with a howl he rose to claim his prize.

**Author's Note:**

> Tfw your prey becomes your _bae_


End file.
